Profiles in Courage – January 2017

A., a 52 year old immigrant from Georgia, lives alone in a housing project in the south. She is divorced with older children with whom she has lost contact. She has long-term issues with drug abuse and mental illness and now she has a new diagnosis of breast cancer. She is very fearful about breast cancer in part because of the financial burden. She lives completely on her small disability pension, with little money to spare. Her hospital social workers reached out to the Lemonade Fund on her behalf, requesting a grant to help A. with extra transportation and basic living costs during the challenging period ahead of her. We hope this grant gives her some peace of mind.

R. has a similar story, divorced with no family support, except that she is older than A., and her breast cancer has advanced and is now terminal. She lives in the center of the country on a small pension. R. is asking for a Lemonade Fund grant to help pay for extra household and nursing help beyond that which is provided by National Health Insurance. She prefers to stay home as long as possible, only moving to hospice care at the last possible moment. Additional financial help will help her achieve this wish.